- Tutankhamun, the Egyptian "boy king", died at age 19 and there has been much speculation about the cause of his death. - Recent studies of his remains suggest he likely died of malaria, which attacked his already weakened body that suffered from a rare bone disorder causing a cleft palate and club foot. - His broken leg, suffered before his death, supports the theory that he died after a fall from a chariot during a hunting accident in the desert.

1. tutankhamun

2. The Egyptian "boy king" Tutankhamun may well have died of malaria after the disease ravaged a body crippled by a rare bone disorder, experts say. new news

3. Ever since Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, scholars have speculated over why the 19-year old boy king died so young. Some believe he was killed by a fall from his chariot, Conspiracy theories say he was murdered but scientists who painstakingly studied the pharaoh's remains, think Tutankhamun died from a bout of malaria that attacked his already weakened body. They say he had a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane. The scientists' DNA studies also suggest the true identity of the king's parents and grandparents, something that has divided archaeologists for decades. Pharaoh suffered a broken left leg above the knee before he died. Speculation about the death of Tutankhamen began when the tomb was discovered by archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922. Some X-ray studies of the mummy taken in 1968 indicated a swelling at the base of the skull, which estimated that the youth died from a blow to the head. However, as long as the documentary 'Tutankhamun: Secrets of King Pharaoh', one expert believes the case has been finally resolved. "He was not murdered as many thought. He suffered an accident while hunting in the desert. After the fall of a chariot broke his left leg and so, in my opinion, as he died," said the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Egypt, Zahi Hawass. his death

4. Pharaoh Tutankhamun was not a remarkable or known in ancient times, the relatively small size of his tomb (KV62) was the reason it was not discovered until century XX.6 Howard Carter found intact in 1922. Its discovery and the treasures found in it had worldwide coverage in the press and renewed public interest in ancient Egypt, making the death mask of Pharaoh in the most popular image. the pharaoh

5. While formally defines that the Eighteenth Dynasty ended with Horemheb's reign, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun was the last real blood of the dynasty. He ascended the throne after the Amarna period and returned to the priests of Amun's influence and power they had possessed before the revolution of Akhenaten's religious and political. During his short reign was in the hands of Ay and Horemheb, who shared power: Ay and Horemheb Egypt administered the Army handled. his reign

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9. vocabulary speculated over: guessed about conspiracy theories: unproven beliefs about how something may have happened which is different from the official reasons painstakingly studied: very carefully looked at and analysed every possible detail the pharaoh's remains: what is left of the king's body following his death a bout of Malaria: a period of sickness caused by a bite from a particular kind of mosquito a cleft palate: a person with a cleft palate was born with a very narrow opening inside their mouth above their tongue, making it very difficult for them to speak club foot:: a person with a club foot was born with one of their feet turned inwards, making it difficult for them to walk traces of: extremely tiny amounts of Parasites: creatures, plants or organisms that live on or inside other larger beings to use them as food Archaeologists: people who study the past by looking at what is left of things such as very old buildings, tools and pottery